Reversible two-cycle engine.



C. HULL.

REVERSIBLE Two-GYVGLB ENGINE.

l y APPLICATION FILED AUG. 8, 1911.,

Patented Sept. 10, 1912.

3mm/idolo afrol-:Meg

UNITED s'rArEs PArENr oEEioE.

CHARLES HULL, or BLooMvILLE, oHIo.

REVERSIBLE TWO-CYCLE ENGINE. l

To all/whom t may concern: h

Be it known that I, CHARLES HULL, a citi zen of the United States, residing at Bloomville, in the county of Seneca and State of Chio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Reversible Two-Cycle Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to two-cycle internal combustion engines, and its object is to provide a simple, inexpensive, reliable and etlicient construction of engine embodying means for reversing .the same whenever it is desired or necessary to change the direction of motion.

The invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter described and claiinred, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which F igure 1 is a vertical section through the engine, as arranged to run in one direction, and showing the piston at the end of its compression stroke. Fig. 2 is a similar viewof the engine with parts arranged for the reversing action, and showing the piston at the end of its working stroke. Figs. 3 and 4 are vertical sections on the lines 3-3 and the of Figs. l and 2. Figs. 5 and 6 are top plan views with the parts of the reversing mechanism arranged in normal and reversing positions. Figs. 7 and S are views showing details of construction of the reversing mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the engine cylinder, which may be.either air or water cooled, and at the base of which is arranged the usual crank casing and compression chamber 2 provided with an admission port 3 controlled by a spring closed admission valve 4, through which port the explosive mixture is introduced into the crank casing on the upward movement of the piston, through the induced suction, for compression upon the subsequent downward movement of the piston. The cylinder is further provided with oppositely disposed exhaust ports 5 uncovered at the limit of downward movementof the piston for the discharge of the spent gases from the com 4bustion chamber 6.

The piston 7 is provided in its bottom with a cavity 8 and in its top with a cavity 9. In the cavity 8 is disposed a pin 10 to which is pivotally connected the upper end of the mixture through the exhaust Speccatonof Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 10, 1912. Application filed August 8, 1911.

Serial No. 642,914.

of the. connecting rod 11, the lower end of which is similarly connected with the crank 12 oft-he engine shaft 13, journaled in and extending through the. side walls of the crank casing and carrying a iy wheel 14, of sufiicient weight to carry the piston from one stroke to the other.

The piston carries a tubular shield 15, of some suitable conducting material, which is iitted at its lower end within the cavity 9 and extends therefrom above the upper end of the piston. The cavities 8 and 9 .are connected by an inlet port 16 controlled by a spring-closed valve 17, which is unseated upon the compression stroke of the piston for the passage of the fuel mixture to the combustion chamber 6 through the cavity 8, port- 16 and shield 15, which serves the function of a battle kto prevent the discharge ports 5 at the beginning of the intake.

The shield 15 is provided upon the interior thereof with electrodes or ignition points 18 and 19, arranged at diiferent elevations and out of vertical alinemcnt with each other. These electrodes or ignition points are adapted to coperate with the spark plug electrode or ignition point 20 for the production of a spark. The electrode, or point 20 is carried by a depending stem 21 jour- 85 naled for a limited rotary movementin the plug body or casing 22, which is fitted in and insulated from the upper. head 23 of the cylinder in any preferred manner. The stern 2l is normally arranged to dispose the 90 sparking point in proper position .to pass the sparking point 18 in the normal operation of the engine, but is adapted to be par tially turned or rotated to bring said spark.-`1 ing point Q0 into position for coperation"-95 with the spark point 19, to advance tl'ie` sparking action for reversing the engine.` A' spring 21 is suitably connected with the stein,

21 and plug body 2Q and is adapted to normally hold the stenr.-` in position for copera-- 10Q tion of the point 20 with the point 18, and

to be placed under tension when the stein is\ turned to bring the point Q0 into position for cooperation with thg'lpifiint 19, for subsequent restoration of the st .tinto its tlrst-`named or e normal'position. 2a-and QGdeSignate the terminals of the spark circuit, whichV are respectively connected with the engine cylinder and plug body'and 27 designates .a lug upon thestem to ,engage a shoulder 28 on 110 the plug body, whereby the rotary movement of the stem is limited and said stem maintained in normal position. I

The stem carries an actuating arm 29 which is engaged by a pawl or dog 30 on a reversing slide 3l movable in guides 32 on the head 23, which slide is coupled by a connecting rod or link 33 with a reversing lever 34 provided with the usual spring actuated awl 35v to engage a` rack36, whereby the ever may be secured in adjusted position. The head 23 is provided with a relief port 37 controlledlby an inwardly openin valve 38, the stem' 39 of which extends t rough 15' the port andis connected with one end of an operating lever 40 on which acts a spring 41 normally holding the valve closed. AThe other end of the lever 40 is arranged to bel engaged by a projection or cam surface 42 on the reversing slide 3l, whereby the lever will be 'rocked to open the valve at a pre? determined period in the reversing ,operation. The dog 30v .is rovided with the usual shoulder to engage tlib arm 29 and a beveled face to permit it`to slide past the arm on ,the backward movement ofthe reversing slide 31, to bring the shoulder again into enagementl with the arm after the stem has n adjusted to reversing position and returned to normal position again. A coiled spring 43 surrounds .the rod or link 32 be. tween the slide 31 and a suitable abutment 44 and operates to maintain the slidein its 'normal position; t .f

In operation, the piston 7 on stroke draws a charge of the mixture through the portl 34 into the crank casing, which charge is' compressedl on the subsequent downwa'd stro e o the piston and passes throughs'the port 16 to the combustion chamber 6. Upon the upward movement of the piston thecharge. in the combustionchamber is compressedand ignited Vby the sparkproduced when 45 passes the point 20. On .its subsequent downward movement the piston iinallyuncovers the ports 5, through which the spent products exhaust tothe atmosphere.

When it is desired to reversevthe en ine, the lever 34 is operated to draw the sli e 31 forward, whereby the stem 21 is `turned to bring the point 20 into position to coperate with the oint 19, sothat an advancedex- M plosion wlll be V.produced in the chamber 6 efore the piston has completed the fist half of its upward or. compression stroke. The piston is thus impelled downward and a reverse motion imparted to the crank 12 to start the enginefrunning in the opposite direction. At the limit of forward rriovement yof the arm 29said arm clears thefdog 30, and is returned to normal position hyp-the spring 22, thus resetting the sparking point 20 yfor coperationvliith the sparking" point its upward -'19 to maintain the normal operationo the the ignltion point 18 engine in its reverse driving action. As soon as the reversing explosion occurs, as above described, thecam surface 42, in the continued forward "movement of the Slide 31, engages and operates the lever d0 to ope i 70 the relief valve 38, for the vent of a portloh of the explosive mixture from the chambe 6 on the subsequent upward movement o the piston, thus reducing the power of the` subsequent explosion and speed of the en ine.

he vent valve may be held open to maintain the slow speed of the englne until an easy working reverse motion is obtained by h oldingthe `s1ideat the limit of its forward movement."` When the engine is"running smoothly on the reverse motion, the le- .ver 34 is released and the spring 43 returns said lever and the slide back to` normal position, thus closin the Vent valvel and restoring the normaorder of arrangement of the parts. In such backward movement of the slide 31 the dog 30 rides over andy again snaps into engagement with the arm 29, as will be readily understood. When it is again desiredto cause the engine to run in the direction 1n which it was assumed to be running prior to the reversino' operation,

the reversing mechanism may e a elated, with the result of again a vanc the explosion andreversing the directionue motion of the shaft, the operation being a repetition of that previously described. t will thus be seen thatmy invention provides a two-cycle engine of simple construction which may be operated in either ain opdirection at will, and conveniently reversed to vary its direction of motion as occasion may require.

Having thus described my inventiomwhat I claim as new 1s:

1. A two-cycle engine comprising a cylinder having an explosion chamber at its upper end, a compression chamber at its lower end provided with a valve controlled admission port and one or more exhaust ports at a point intermediate saidl explosion and compression chambers, a 'j on operating in the cylinder and cont-rolling said ports, said piston having a valve controlled passage for the feed of the explosive charge from the compression chamber to the ex osion chamber, spark points carried by t e piston andk arranged at different elevations and out of vertical alinement with each other, a spark plug having a' rotary stem provided with a. sparking point fo'r coperation with the first-named points, and means for adjusting said stem for coperation with either of the first-named sparking points. y

2. A. twocycle engine including a cylinder having an explosion chamber provided with a relief port, a spark plug havin an adjustable spark point, a valve contro lin said relief port, a plston provided witg 130 .sparkponts arranged at different elevations der having an explosion chamber, an adjustable sparking device, a piston provided -With 1 sparkpoints arranged at different elevations and out of ,vertical alinement With each other, and means .for adjusting said adjustable sparking device for coperation with each of said'spark points.

4f. A two-cycle engine including a cylinder having a crank casing provided with an admission port, an explosion chamber, `and exhaust ports arranged at a point intermediate the crank casing and explosion chamber, a piston controllin the exhaust port and having a valved eed assage, a tubular shield extending upvvar ly from the piston in line With said passage, a pair of sparking points carried `by the shield at different elevations and out of vert-ical alinement with each other, and a sparking point Within the explosion chamber adjustable to coperate with either of the first-named sparking points. y 5. A two-cycle engine comprising a cylin- *der havingan explosion chamber provided with a relief port, `a valve controlling said port, a piston provided with spark points arranged at dilferent elevations and out of vertical alinement; with each other, a spark plug provided with `an 'automatically retraeted7 spark terminal adjustable to cop erate with either of said spark points, a movable member for adjusting said spark terminal, means for operating the same, and means controlled by the First-named means for opening the relief valve after adjust ment of said adjustable spark terminal.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

CHARLES HULL. Witnesses:

S. R. HULL, E. C. SNYDER. 

